University of Maine at Fort Kent men's basketball representatives including (from left) Troy Williams, Bobby Syvanthong, coach Tom Bird, Anthony Knight and Jarid Walton were honored at the United States Collegiate Athletic Association award banquet in February in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. Bird hopes a beefed-up schedule will help the Bengals take the final step to winning a national championship. (Courtesy of University of Maine at Fort Kent Athletics)

University of Maine at Fort Kent men's basketball representatives including (from left) Troy Williams, Bobby Syvanthong, coach Tom Bird, Anthony Knight and Jarid Walton were honored at the United States Collegiate Athletic Association award banquet in February in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. Bird hopes a beefed-up schedule will help the Bengals take the final step to winning a national championship. (Courtesy of University of Maine at Fort Kent Athletics)

How a Maine small college is cashing in on ‘guarantee games’

It is a routine practice in college athletics for higher-level athletic programs, especially in football and men’s basketball, to pay teams from smaller schools to go play them on their home turf.

It is a routine practice in college athletics for higher-level athletic programs, especially in football and men’s basketball, to pay teams from smaller schools to go play them on their home turf.

But those writing the checks for Division I basketball guarantee games aren’t limited to the power conferences.

When America East men’s basketball stalwart University of Vermont had difficulty filling out its home schedule last year, it replied to an email from the University of Maine at Fort Kent, a small-college program in northernmost Aroostook County that competes in the U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association.

The Fort Kent team ultimately traveled to Burlington, Vermont, on Nov. 22 and dropped a 90-54 decision in a game for which the Bengals received a reported guarantee of $3,000 to help offset expenses.

To read the rest of “How a Maine small college is cashing in on ‘guarantee games’,” an article by contributing Bangor Daily News staff writer Ernie Clark, please follow this link to the BDN online.

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